Monday, June 29, 2009

Philippine presidential candidates ad misspending

Senator Manny Villar, Senator Mar Roxas, Senator Loren Legarda, and Vice President Noli De Castro are touted by survey organizations as the most popular choices for Presidential candidates in 2010.

One factor that has helped them quite a bit is that they are also the biggest spenders on TV ads.

In previous posts, I urged people not to vote for these candidates as President because they are violating the Fair Elections Act even as the Commission on Elections continues to bury its head in the sand -- refusing to stop the obvious violations.

In addition to this, I'd like everyone to consider this idea: What if instead of spending money on TV advertisements, these candidates just spent their money helping people.

Senator Manny Villar has spent P321.4 million on TV ads where most of the ads show him claiming to have helped OFWs come home or helped people buy their own homes by selling low cost housing. The central message of the TV ads is that he is helping the poor because he was once a poor man.

The thing is, if he really wanted to help the poor, he could have just spent the P321 Million on stuff like plane tickets for OFWs who had suffered abuse in foreign countries. The cost of a plane ticket from Riyadh to Manila is...., 321 million could buy XXX

Mar Roxas, who has used up P256.7 million.

In third place is Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, whose city has spent P115.1 million on advertisements featuring his achievements.

In fourth slot is Vice President Noli de Castro, whose Pag-Ibig Fund Corp. has paid P45.8 million for TV advertisements showing him urging people to avail themselves of cheap housing loans.

He is followed by Sen. Loren Legarda, who has spent P42 million on environmental protection advertising.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. is featured in a National Disaster Coordinating Council ad that seeks to promote disaster preparedness and awareness among the people.

The council, which Teodoro chairs, has used up P30.7 million.

Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson spent the smallest amount of P22 million for his anti-corruption advocacy. He has quit the presidential race for lack of money.

Villar is a self-made billionaire, making his fortune in real estate. The Senate is investigating him for alleged conflict of interest and unethical conduct.

He spent P104.8 million last month, P75.7 million in April, P29.6 million in February, P32.5 million in January, P19.6 million in December, P22.7 million in November, and P36.4 million in October. No spending was reported for March.

Roxas, on the other hand, was born to wealth. He belongs to the family that owns the Araneta Center commercial complex in Cubao, Quezon City.

He spent P39.3 million in May, P114.2 million in April, P32 million in February, and P71.3 million in January.